Charisma With a Small "c"

Over the Easter holiday I went out for a jog while visiting my parents in Virginia Beach. One of the streets I passed was named "Charisma Way." I laughed as I ran by, thinking of the pressure of living up to their address. Yet reality is far more insidious. We often hear that great women and men have charisma seemingly from the moment they are born. Supposedly they captivate others and conquer mountains from the time they first walk and talk. This false belief allows the rest of us to resign ourselves to average lives since we are not "gifted." However we need to reconsider this false belief.

True enough, there are women and men who captivate a room the moment they walk in and make others feel as they are the only person in the world when they communicate. These individuals seemingly dominate any discussion, rally or gathering effortlessly and hold sway at will. They are the "natural" leaders who supposedly move groups to support causes. Usually tall, athletic and good looking, we stand aside to permit them access to any pulpit they wish. Yet, is it true that they are the natural leaders, or are we just holding back?

History recounts numerous individuals who used their "gift" for the wrong purpose; to start wars, demean others, or just to fill their own ego. History also teaches us that individuals who have passion and purpose can move mountains even without the usual anointing of charisma. These are people who use what they have to move toward their own personal greatness and change their world, however small, in the ways they can.

There are few of us who will go down in history; few of us who were born on "Charisma Way" and yet all of us can affect the world around us. What are your gifts? What are your talents? The world is less if we hold them back in favor of others. So perhaps there is charisma with a small "c" that doesn't need the pulpit, or approval of the crowd, but succeeds nevertheless in touching the lives of others and making them better. Either way, all of us are anointed to achieve our own personal greatness and we will do it in our own way.